Ahh, so that's why they asked me "have you eaten today?" like a million times before my appendix surgery...

That and the anaesthesia will cause you to vomit if you eat within 6 hours of going under and you will choke on your vomit and DIE!!! Seriously though. The breathing tube they put down your throat will seal your fate when the stomach acid and forbidden meal starts shooting its way up your esophagus.